Best & Worst Animated Disney Movies

BEST 2. 'Bambi'

Walt Disney's fifth animated feature, first released in 1942, is notable for so many reasons.

First, "Bambi" showed an evolution in Disney animation because the studio created an on-site zoo so artists could study animals and draw more realistic characters.

Secondly, the movie's themes of nature conservation helped raised awareness of fire prevention (and ultimately led to the creation of Smokey the Bear), while the heartbreaking death of Bambi's mother spurred public interest in animal rights issues.

Finally, "Bambi" is simply a beautiful story with distinctly "Disney" characters and hand-drawn animation that rivals anything created by computers today. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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Some of the greatest movies ever made were created in the mind and spirit of Walt Disney. And it's no secret that his most celebrated works were achieved in animation. Today, Walt's legacy lives on through the genre he revolutionized, and continues to grow with computer-animated films like this weekend's new flick "Big Hero 6."

Keep clicking to check out 12 of Walt Disney Studios' greatest animated triumphs, and 12 films that were a rare miss for the Mouse House. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photos: Disney)

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It all started with a Mouse, so it's no surprise that Mickey remains the stand-out of Walt's stunning 1940 film. "Fantasia" features eight animated shorts set to music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, including Mr. Mouse's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." The name of the Sorcerer, Yen Sid, is actually Disney spelled backwards. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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This 1955 favorite is "Romeo & Juliet" meets man's best friend... and they called it "bella notte." There are few Disney images as iconic as Lady and the Tramp sharing a plate of spaghetti at Tony's restaurant. The movie's opening sequence, featuring Lady in a hat box, was inspired by Walt's presentation of a Chow puppy to his wife Lily. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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"Aladdin" was one of 10 films released during the "Disney Renaissance," a 10-year period from 1989-1999 during which animated Disney films regained critical and financial success. "Aladdin" has proven to be one of Disney's most successful franchises, spawning video games, theme park attractions and direct-to-video sequels. Fun fact: Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, replaced Robin Williams as the voice of Genie in the sequel, "The Return of Jafar." —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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This Disney-Pixar collaboration was one of the best-reviewed films of 2009 and it earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture — only the second animated film to receive that honor. This imaginative and heartwarming film about a lonely old man fulfilling his late wife's last wish is extraordinary. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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This 1959 film has the sad distinction of being the last fairy tale film produced by Walt Disney before his death. Although the film was not a financial success during its initial release, it is now one of Disney's most popular classics. The film's title character, Princess Aurora, appears in only 18 minutes of the hour-plus film. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, it's "Beauty and the Beast." Upon its initial release in 1991, this movie stunned audiences with it's computer-generated ballroom, which gave Belle and Beast's famous dance sequence the illusion of three dimensions. Walt Disney tried to adapt "Beauty and the Beast" into a non-musical movie on several occasions, but the projects fell through. The film finally came to fruition during the Disney Renaissance and went on to become the first animated feature to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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Aren't you glad "The Little Mermaid" is a part of our world? The 1989 underwater love story was the first film of the Disney Renaissance, but the last film to use hand-painted cel animation. Walt considered adapting the Hans Christian Andersen tale in the '30s, but put the idea on hold. Thankfully, when "Mermaid" finally made it to the big screen, she was accompanied by one of Disney's best soundtracks. Fun fact: Ariel's body and personality were modeled after actress Alyssa Milano. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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When Woody met Buzz Lightyear, one of the most successful and popular Disney franchises was born. "Toy Story" (1995) was not only Pixar's first feature film, it was also the first feature film made entirely with computer-generated images. Beyond the technical feats of the movie, "Toy Story" is a brilliant concept with a witty script, timeless characters and inspired voice performances by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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When it comes to fairy tales, there is no story better than "Cinderella." The epitome of a Disney classic, this 1950 film was the first major animated feature produced by the studio following World War II. Although the "Cinderella" story is more than 300 years old, Disney's interpretation — complete with timeless love story, fairy godmother, pumpkin carriage and talking mice — has become the definitive version. Fun fact: Mike Douglas provided the singing voice for Prince Charming. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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"The Lion King" is the second highest-grossing animated film of all time (behind "Toy Story 3") and the most successful film of the Disney Renaissance period. This beautiful coming-of-age tale featured a combination of hand-drawn animation and CGI, giving scenes such as the "wildebeest stampede" a decidedly epic feel. Nearly 20 years after its release, "The Lion King" remains one of Disney's most popular properties, thanks in part to Elton John's now-classic soundtrack and an all-star cast of voices, including Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane and Whoopi Goldberg. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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Walt Disney's fifth animated feature, first released in 1942, is notable for so many reasons.

First, "Bambi" showed an evolution in Disney animation because the studio created an on-site zoo so artists could study animals and draw more realistic characters.

Secondly, the movie's themes of nature conservation helped raised awareness of fire prevention (and ultimately led to the creation of Smokey the Bear), while the heartbreaking death of Bambi's mother spurred public interest in animal rights issues.

Finally, "Bambi" is simply a beautiful story with distinctly "Disney" characters and hand-drawn animation that rivals anything created by computers today. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

This is the film that started it all. Not only was "Snow White" Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature, it was the first full-length animated feature in movie history. The film was shot in Technicolor on Walt's revolutionary multiplane camera, which featured up to seven layers of artwork shot by a single camera to give the movie a three-dimensional effect.

"Snow White" was considered one of the most innovative films of its time and still stands as one of the most influential and culturally significant movies ever made. And considering the massive financial risk Walt took to make "Snow White," a world without Sleepy, Dopey, Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Bashful and Doc might have been a world without Disney at all. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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While "The Princess and the Frog" featured a refreshing return to hand-drawn animation, this 2009 film simply lacked the magic of Disney's previous fairytale adaptations. From forgettable musical numbers to disenchanting characters like witch doctors and voodoo priestesses, this film simply missed the mark. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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One of Disney's few computer-animated films not produced under the Pixar banner, "Bolt" was to the Disney canon what "Over the Hedge" and "Flushed Away" were to the DreamWorks Animation canon — a palate cleanser between hits. But this one featured the voice of Miley Cyrus. It's not that "Bolt" was bad, it just lacked substance and sizzle. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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This painfully middle-of-the-road 1970 "classic" featured a trio of kidnapped kittens, but lacked memorable songs, a memorable villain and, well, just about anything that makes a Disney film memorable. Coincidentally (or not), "Aristocats" was the first animated film produced after Walt Disney's death. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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If this film has anything going for it, it's the slick-talking villain, Hades, voiced by James Woods. Unfortunately, this animated feature, which is part of the late Disney Renaissance, is simply too "cool" for its own good and lacks the heart of many Disney classics. From the animation style, to the loud leading lady, to the cast of mythological characters, "Hercules" has an edge that's simply hard to cuddle up to. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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The early-mid 2000s was not a good time for Disney's animated movies, and "Brother Bear" is one of several failures from that time period. The story of an Inuit boy who is magically transformed into a bear, this lackluster film simply retreads characters, scenes and themes from previous Disney films, such as "Pocahontas" and "The Lion King," but is not nearly as beautiful or engaging. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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This traditionally animated outer-space adaptation of "Treasure Island" was visually appealing, but lacked a script and story to please anyone above the age of 8. It should be a crime for a film to borrow so much from the sci-fi genre and do so little with it. There's not much to love here, and the poor box office performance reflected that. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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If the sky fell, hopefully it would land on "Chicken Little." This 2005 movie was Disney's first attempt at a CGI film without Pixar, and it was painfully bland in comparison to classics like "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters, Inc." The most puzzling problem is how Disney, which is famous for adapting fairy tales, took a well-known children's story and managed to mangle the plot. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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Seven years after Steven Spielberg brought dinosaurs to life in "Jurassic Park," Disney took a shot at computer-generated super-lizards and it looked so ... average. With less excitement than "Park" and less heart than "The Land Before Time," you can't help but wonder why the studio spent $130 million to make an egg with no yolk. This film will bore you into extinction. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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Sandwiched between "Bolt" and "Chicken" little, this Pixar-less CGI flick is about an orphan boy who is whisked into the future by a mysterious stranger. With a frenetic pace, ho-hum plot and unusual character design, "Robinsons" looks and feels like something DreamWorks left on the cutting room floor. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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At just over an hour long, this 2004 film would have been better suited as a direct-to-video release or Disney channel special. "Home on the Range" features sub-par animation, generic animal characters (one of which has the voice of Roseanne) and unimaginative save-the-farm plot. In terms of classically animated pictures, this is one of Disney's udder messes. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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What happens when you take Disney-Pixar's least appealing concept and throw its sweet characters into a plot involving espionage, explosions, strange foreign lands and alternative fuel sources? You terrify your pint-sized fans, alienate the adults who paid for them to see it and get crushed by critics. This sequel, which is officially Pixar's first and only bad movie to date, was a mistake from conception. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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This often forgotten film is nothing we've come to expect from Disney's animated films. With its stylized comic book animation, sci-fi setting, heartless plot and shallow characters, this action-adventure epic is more "FernGully" than "Indiana Jones." Where is the fun? Where is the emotion? I don't care about these characters!

Like many of Disney's admittedly limited flubs, "Atlantis" is an example of the studio trying too hard to break tradition and, by doing so, forgetting the basics that made them popular to begin with. —XFINITY Entertainment Staff (Photo: Disney)

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